The View from the Hermitage, Day 180

As if I didn't spend days going through and reorganizing everything in my sewing room/studio after the floor refinish, I have now moved in multiple cartons of fleece and other needle felting supplies that were in the storeroom. The goal is to open a clear path from an exterior door to the storeroom that holds the furnace as well as the area around the furnace. I was working on it now because they were going to do the job Monday and Tuesday. Guess what. The phone just rang, and they are now coming on Tuesday and Wednesday. Fortunately, I left enough room in the studio that I can still do some things over the weekend now that I won't be moving and clearing as much.

I noted on Facebook that I had resigned my job and had been officially connected with the university for more than half my life. One of the comments was to remind me of one of the many humorous episodes those 34 years contained. My third year in grad school, I was employed as the statistical consultant in the Academic Computing Center. Students and faculty would bring in their data analysis questions, and I would confirm that what they were doing was correct or try to steer them in a proper direction. One client--I cannot recall if student or faculty--proposed doing a certain analysis. Looking at his data set, I noted that his sample size was not large enough to make that analysis meaningful. He ended up out in the user area duplicating his data punch-cards (those were the days, my friend, I'm glad they came to an end) to make his sample size large enough. 

On the novel coronavirus front, Fauci says it may well be late in or the end of 2021 before life gets back to normal. HWSNBN said we've turned the corner, but Fauci begs to differ. The fall months will not be easy given the confluence of the coronavirus and influenza. There won't be a covid-19 vaccine before 2021, at least not one most people would feel comfortable taking. And even if a reliable one is approved in early 2021, getting it out to enough people who will take it will take a while. One suggestion I saw was that they vaccinate people over 70 first. Works for the husband, but I won't be in that group.

All of last week's covid-19 tests at my mom's assisted living facility came back negative. It sounds as if next week they will let small groups of residents eat in the dining room. I imagine that they would not have more than two at a table; I would not be surprised if there were one per table, but that would hardly provide the social connection people have been missing. Bingo in the doorways may give way to bingo in the library as they used to do it. That would probably depend on the number of people who show up, because I imagine they will continue social distancing. And given the possibility that a staff member could bring the virus to work, they may do more testing. They're not going to open up to outside visitors. That would defeat all the work they've done to keep residents safe so far.

I read today that the campaign committee of HWSNBN is considering holding a political event at the White House right before Election Day. I really wish someone would take the Hatch Act seriously and do whatever they would do such as fine, indict, etc. all the federal employees who assist in staging such an event. They say the president and vice president are immune, but whoever sets up the folding chairs isn't nor are the technical types running the sound system. And if that's not possible, how about a drenching rainstorm?

And this weekend we hit 26 weeks of hermitting aka six months or half of one full year. When all this started, I did not want to admit it could go on this long. Unfortunately, it has, and it would not surprise me if it lasted more than the full year we'll hit in six months.